Finger-exerciser for students of type-writing.



No. 787,825. PATENTED APR. 18, 1905. J. T. BRATTIN.

FINGER EXBRCISER FOR STUDENTS OF TYPE WRITING.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 30. 1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1 WITNESSES: INVENTORe No. 787,825. PATENTED APP..18, 1905. J. T. BRATTIN.

FINGER EXERGISER FOR- STUDBNTS OF TYPE WRITING.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 30. 1904.

3 SHEETSSHEBT 2.

w mi R 5 WETNESSES:

INVENTOR m,

ATTORN EY- XMW No. 787,825. PATENTED APR.18, 1905. J. T. BRATTIN.

FINGER EXERCISER FOR STUDENTS OF TYPE WRITING.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 30. 1904.

- 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

ATTORN EY,

BY WwM/O WITNESSES:

UNITED STATES Patented April 18,1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN T. BRATTIN, OF IRVINGTON, NE\V JERSEY, ASSlGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO \VILLIAM G. RESSLAND,

()F N E\VARK, NEW JERSEY.

FINGER-EXERCISER FOR STUDENTS OF TYPE-WRITING- SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent N0. 787,825, dated April 18, 1905.

Application filed September 30,1904. Serial No. 228,621.

To It loll (mt it may co/ui'crn:

Be it known that 1, JOHN T. Bna'r'rix, a citizen of the United States, residing at Irvington, in the county of Essex and State ofNew Jersey, have invented certain new and useful improvements in l inger-Exercisers for StudentsofTy 1. e-\Vriting; and ldo hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to numerals of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The objects of this invention are to provide a tinger-exercising machine for students of type-writing which will enable the said students to obtain visual indications of the keys struck by their lingers while exercising, thereby getting a better knowledge of the truencss with which the keys are being worked; to reduce cost of construction; to render the working parts more easy to the touch and more uniform in the degree of pressure required to depress the key; to facilitate the assemblage of parts of the device; to regulate and make more equal the degree of depression of the various keys; to imitate more closely the touch of the keys of typewritingmachines now in the market, and to secure other advantages and results, some of which will be hereinafter referred to in connection with the description of the working parts.

The invention consists in the improved exerciser for students of type-writing and in the arrangements and combinations of parts of the same, all substantially as will be hereinafter set forth, and finally embraced in the clauses of the claim.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in each of the several ligures, Figure l is a plan of the improved machine. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken vertically on line rof Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side view, and Fig. r is a front view, of an indicator in detail employed in the maehlne. Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken at line of Fig. 2, showing the indicating devices more 5 clearly. Fig. 6 is a sectional view on line 1 showing the said indicating devices in plan. Fig. 7 is a side view of the imlicator-frame. Fig. 8 is a detail elevation of the indicator for the space-bar, and Fig. 9 is a detail eleva- 5 5 tion of the indicator for the shift-key.

In said drawings, l0 indicates a box or case which is preferably of greater breadth and length than height, the low forward part of said box or case being open and lower or of less height than the rearward part. Said rearward part is preferably provided with a permanently-attached cover or closure plate 21, at the rear of which is a low riser 22, on which a hinged cover 23 rests, the extreme 5 rear of the case 10 being more or less elevated above the permanent plate or cover 21 for purposes hereinafter indicated.

\Vithin the case 10, resting on the bottom thereof, is secured a sheet-metal fulcrum 1o, 7 at the upper edge of which is seated a series of key-lcvers 12. At the forward ends of said key-levers are the keys 24:, on which the student operates and gains the desired expertness by practicing thereon. \Vithin said box, nearer the rear of the box than the fulcrum 16, is seated a raised cross-piecell, which serves as a rest for the levers'lQ, the said levers being held thereon by means of a spring-controlled cross-piece 13, which over- 8 lies the series of key-levers and presses the latter down upon the raised cross-piece 11, the pressure being induced by a spring 18, fastened upon a platform 15 within said box, toward the front thereof,the said spring 18 transmitting its pressure through theframe-like wire connection 14:, to which the pressure-bar 13 is attached. The wire frame it and spring 1b are so constructed and arranged in relation to oneanother as to secure a substantially uni- 9 form pressure on all the several key-levers 12, so that the touch of the said key-levers will be uniform to the student. To this end the frame connection is is preferably formed as shown in Fig. 1, where it is shown to be bent at the center to form a spring bearing-M11125, against the extremity 251 of which the spring 18 bears downwardly. At the opposite sides of said arm of said frame 14 are the fulcrumal'bearings 26 26 of said frame, and at the extreme opposite sides of said frame are the long arms 27 27, which extend to the pressure-bar 13, where said long arms are bent perpendicularly to lie longitudinally on the upper face of said pressure-bar 13, to which said arms are rigidly fastened by staples 29 or by other means.

When the key-levers 12 are depressed by the keys 24 and raised at their rearward ends, the same press upward against the under side of the pressure-bar 13 and the arms 27 are turned on their fulcrumal bearings 26, at the same time lifting the short arm 25 and the free end of the spring 18, and this operation is accomplished by any of the key-levers 12 at a practically uniform expenditure of power.

To limit the depression of the keys 24, I have provided a limiting-block 30, against which the forward ends of the key-levers may strike.

The parts 11 and 30 may be suitably padded to prevent noise in operation due to the striking of the finger-keys thereon.

The finger-keys are held in proper relative position by combs 20 and 21, disposed near the front and rear of the case in any suitable manner.

The key-levers 12 are weighted, as at 31, to regulate the touch of the keys 24 and make them correspond with the touch of the ordinary type-Writing keys. At the rear ends of the said key-levers 12 the same engage indicating-plates 34, so as to raise said plates when the keys 24 are depressed. The said indicating-plates 34 are arranged in series in a suitable carrying device consisting of upper and lower slotted plates 33, which are slotted, as at 31, to receive the shanks 35 of said indicatingplates, the latter sliding vertically in said slots and being provided with horizontally-projecting lips 36 for a purpose hereinafter referred to.

The upward and downward movements of the indicating-plates are limited by offsets or horizontal bends 37, Fig. 3, in the shanks of the plates 34, which bends strike against the under side of the upper slotted plate and against the upper side of the lower slotted plate, thus limiting the upward and downward movements of the said indicating-plates and holding said indicating-plates in position to receive the operating key-lever.

The upper parts of theindicating-plates are made broad, as indicated at 38 in Fig. 4, to provide ample space for the letters or numbers corresponding with the letters or numbers on the finger-keys engaging the said plates, and thus whena finger-key 24, having the letter A, for example, marked thereon, is struck by the student the indicating-plate 34 marked A will be raised into prominence and will thus enable the operator to know that the proper key has been struck.

The indicating-plate thus raised by the key= lever 12 is automatically held in its elevated position and released by the student striking a subsequentkey or the space-bar 39, the temporary holding of the indicating-plate 34 in its elevated position giving the operator ample time to observe the letter marked thereon.

To automatically hold the indicator-plate in its elevated position temporarily, as above indicated, I have provided transverse pivotal resting-bars 40, provided at opposite ends with pivotal lugs 41, arranged in perforations in side plates 42 of the indicator-plate holder, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5. At the upper edges of the said resting-bars the same are bent to lie approximately horizontally, and the said resting-bars are held normally in inclined positions, as indicated in Fig. 2, by springs 44 and connecting-bars 43, which cause the two resting-bars 40 to move on their pivotal centers simultaneously and together. The restbars 40 are limited in movement by lugs 41.

In operating the device when the fingerkeys 24 are depressed and the weighted ends of the key-levers 12 are raised the latter engage the lower extremities of the indicatingplates 34 and force the same upward in the indicator-frame, it being understood that the cover 23 is then open, so as to permit the lettered upper ends 38 of the indicator-plates to be seen by the operator. In the upward movement of the indicator-plate the lip 36 thereof engages the inclined side of one of the restbars, throwing the latter to a vertical position, and any indicator-plate resting thereon, as hereinafter described, will be released and permitted to gravitate automatically to its lower or non-indicating position. The continued up movement of the indicator-plate 34 causes the lip 36 to pass above the sides of its pivoted rest-bar, and the latter is drawn under said lip 36, and when the finger is released from the finger-key the key-lever drops and permits the indicator-plate to drop a trifle, so that the said lip 36 thereof is seated at the top of the bar, where it is held until the next key or spacingbar is struck. the vertically-sliding indicator-plates in the slots 31 are loose or free to permit an easy gravitation without material frictional resistance.

In connection with the exercising-machine I have provided shift-key levers 45, which have at their ends, opposite the finger-keys 46 thereof, an indicator-plate 47 such as shown in Fig. 9, where the word Gap appears on the said indicator-plate of said shift-keys. I thereby enable the operator to know when the shift-key has been properly operated to produce a capital letter. The shift-keys are con trolled in their movements by coiled springs 48 at the rear ends of said shift-key levers, thereby securing a movement somewhat like in touch that of the shift-keys of a type-writing machine. Likewise the space-bar 39 is The bearings for provided with an indicator-plate 4E9 at the rear l key levers having linger-keys at said opening,

end of the space-bar frame 50, the said spacebar indicator being provided with a word, such as Spacef which will appear to view when the space-bar is struck by the hand, and thus show that the said space'bar has been properly operated.

The peculiar space-bar frame is shown more clearly in Figs. 1 and 5, where the said frame is shown to comprise a single piece of strap-like metal bent to extend parallel with the back board 51 of the casing at the inside thereof and at its opposite ends to extend parallel with the side boards of said casing, the extremities of the said straplike piece of metal being near their extremities bent or folded upward, then horizontally, the horizontal extensions serving as seats for the space-bar 36 proper.

The indicator-plate 4:9 for the space-bar serves as a weight to lower the frame to its normal position, and the said space-bar frame 50 is limited in its movements as in case of the linger-keys, and the said space-bar frame 50 is seated on the fulcrum 16 in a manner similar to the linger-keys. The same is also true of the shift-keys. The space-bar operates the resting-bars 4:0 by means of a slanting extension 5st, fastened to one of the resting-bars, the said extension bearing on the rear end of the space-bar frame.

When the cover 23 is closed, it serves as a lock for the several keys and key-levers, each in connection with its indi tator-plate 34, the said cover bearing against the top of the said plates 3%, and thus holding the said indicatorplates against the tops of the said keys and space-bar frame, holding said parts in position, so that in transporting the machine from place to place there will be no looseness or movement of its contents.

1 am aware that changes may be made in the detailed construction of my device from the specilic construction illustrated in the drawings and above described in positive terms without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, and I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself by all the said positive expressions employed excepting as the state of the art may require.

in operating the device the cover 23 is opened and the machine is then ready for the manipulation of the keys, and because of the construction shown and described the manipulation and touch of said keys is in very close harmony with those of the ordinary typewriting machines now found on the market.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new is l. The improved linger-exerciser for students of type-writing com prising a case raised at the rear end and having a hinged lid or cover at said rear, and at the front l'iaving an opening through which the key-levers may extend, a fulcrum within said case, a series of lingerand a series of vertically-sliding indicatorplates arranged to be lifted into view by said linger-key levers, and means for holding said indicator-plates in elevated positions after the return of said key-levers to their normal positions, substantially as set forth.

2. The improved linger-exerciser, comprising a case, a series of levers within said case and adapted to be worked by the lingers of the student, and sliding ind icating-plates operated by said levers, the lovers at their ends opposite the linger-keys extending beneath said sliding plates to raise the same when said levers are pressed by the lingers, substantially as set forth.

3. The improved linger-exerciser, comprising a case, a series of levers within said case and adapted to be worked by the fingers of the student, and indicating-plates operated by said levers, and means for holding said indicating-plates in an elevated position temporarily after having been acted on by said levers and the descent of said levers from said plates, substantially as set forth.

4. The improved linger-exerciser, comprising a case, a series of levers within said case and adapted to be worked by the lingers of the student, imlicating-plates operated by said levers, and a resting-bar on which said indicating-plates may be seated, substantially as set forth.

5. The improved linger-exerciser, comprising a case, a series of levers adapted to be operated by the lingers of the student, indicating-plates adapted to be lifted by said levers, means movable independent of said levers for holding said plates in their raised positions and means for throwing the holding means from holding relation, substantially as set forth.

6. The improved linger-exerciser, comprising a case, a series of levers adapted to be operated by the lingers of the student, sliding indicating-plates adapted to be lifted by said levers, means for holding said plates in their raised positions and means for throwing the holding means from holding relation, substantially as set forth.

7. The improved linger-exerciser, comprising a case, a series of levers adapted to be operated by the fingers of the student, indicating-plates adapted to be lifted by said levers,

a movable transverse seat adapted to enter' beneath said indicating-plates for holding said plates in their raised positions, and means for throwing the holding means from holding relation, substantially as set forth.

8. The improved linger-exerciser, comprising a case, having linger-keysand connections adapted to transmit power therefrom to indieating-plates, said indicating-plates adapted to be moved into a position of exposure when said keys are operated, and slotted plates stationed adjacent to the linger-key connections,

and holding said indicating-plates in position to be acted on by said keys and connections, substantially as set forth.

9. The improved finger-exerciser, in Which is combined With the fingerkey levers, a series of indicating-plates, each adapted to be lifted by one of said levers, and atransverse 'seat adapted to enter automatically into holding relation with the elevated plate and be engaged by said levers to effect a release of said indicating-plates, substantially as set forth.

10. The combination With the finger-keys and indicating-plates, of a transverse pivotal seat for said plates and a spring for operating said seat, substantially as set forth.

11. The combination With the finger-keys and indicating-plates, of a transverse pivotal resting-bar, a spring adapted to force the said bar into holding relation to said indicatingplates and means adapted to transmit motion from said keys to said resting-bars and indieating-plates.

12. The combination With a case open at the front and rear, of finger-keys at the front opening and indicatingplates at the rear opening, a transverse pivotal resting-bar, a spring adapted to force the said bar into holding relation to said indicating-plates and means adapted to transmit motion from said keys to said resting-bars and indicating-plates.

13. The combination With the finger-keys and indicating-plates of a transverse restingbar movable to and from holding relation to said indicating-plates, a spring in connection with said bar and tending to force the said bar into plate-holding relation to said indicating-plates and means adapted to transmit motion from said keys to said resting-bars and indicating-plates.

14. In a finger-exerciser, the combination With the finger-key levers each having a notch on the under side, of a sheetmetal fulcrum extending into the notches of the said levers, said fulcrum extending transversely from. lever to lever of the exerciser, a cross-piece on which the levers normally rest, a transverse pressure-bar lying on said levers, and a spring for effecting ample pressure upon the said levers, and indicating-plates adapted to be forced by said levers, at their ends opposite the finger-keys thereof, into positions of exposure to View, substantially as set forth.

15. In a finger-exerciser, the combination with the finger-keylevers, and means for limiting movements of, the same, of a spring-controlled cross-piece bearing on the said levers, a frame fastened to said cross-piece, the connection of said frame and cross-piece being at the opposite ends of the latter and said spring bearing on said.frame near the center of said frame, substantially as set forth.

16. In a finger-exerciser, the combination with the key-levers and a cross-piece bearing down on said levers, of a Wire frame fulcrumed at side and at its opposite side connected to said cross-piece, and a spring bearing on said frame at a point intermediate of the cross-piece fulcrum, substantially as set forth.

17. In a finger-exerciser, the combination With the key-levers and a cross-piece thereon, of a frame, bent at the center to form a spring bearing-arm and at its opposite ends having long arms extending to the cross-piece, and a spring bearing on said spring bearing-arm and forcing said frame and the cross-piece to- Ward said key-levers substantially as set forth.

18. In a finger-exerciser, the combination with the key-levers and a cross-piece lying.

thereon, of a Wire frame doubled at the center to form a spring bearing-arm, the bearing for the spring lying at the extremity of said arm, the opposite ends of said spring extending parallel With said spring bearing-arm and projecting in the direction of and beyond said spring bearing-arm and at the ends of the opposite projections or extensions being fastened to said cross-piece and a springengaging the extremity of said spring bearing-arm, substantially as set forth. a

19. In a finger-exerciser, the combination with the finger-key levers, of indicating-plates independent of the levers but disposed at the ends of said levers opposite the finger-keys thereof, and a spring for pressing the said ends opposite the finger-keys downward, While the indicating-plates raised by the levers remain temporarily in their elevated positions, substantially as set forth.

20. In a finger-exerciser, the combination With the finger-key levers, of indicating-plates disposed at the ends of said levers opposite the finger-keys and free to gravitate When re: leased, means for holding said indicatingplates in indicated position, means for drawing the holdingmeans automatically into holding relation, and a spring controlled by the cross-bar for resisting the pressure of the fingers on said finger-key levers, substantially as set forth.

21. In combination With the key-levers, and spring-controlled cross-bar, of a slotted indicating-plate holder, indicating-plates slidably arranged in the slots of saidholder and having horizontally-projecting lips, a pivotal bar providing a seat for said lips, a spring for drawing the pivotal bar underneath said lips, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 13th day of September, 1904.

JOHN T. BRATTIN.

Witnesses:

CHARLES H. PELL, RUSSELL M. EVERETT. 

